Hiding
by starsareFALLING
Summary: A field training exercise in the mountains brings two of the X-Men together. Starts as a Jean/Kitty friendship, but you know me; nobody ever stays just friends. Mostly fluff. Rating might go up later. Reviews would be greatly appreciated.
1. Field Training Exercise?

**Summary: **While out in the mountains for a half-field exercise/half-vacation weekend, Jean and Kitty take the opportunity to learn a little more about one another, things no one would expect from either of them. Starts as a growing Jean/Kitty friendship, but eventually moves on to more like any good femslash. Mostly fluff for now, and hopefully forever. I hate angst. I have enough of it myself, thanks. Dx

**Disclaimer:** I own none of the X-Men characters, sadly, never mind Jean and Kitty. Though I'd give pretty much **anything** to own the latter of the two. Although Famke Janssen's pretty nice herself, I love Ellen Page to death. x3

* * *

Jean stopped short as the bell dismissing the fourth hour class period rang, effectively cutting off her lecture. Grinning to herself and laughing inwardly as apparent relief spread like the plague across the face of nearly every one of her students, she calmly capped her white board marker. "Remember, your research papers on the structure and characteristics of DNA are due before the bell on Monday," she reminded them. "_Before the bell_, Ronnie," she reiterated as said boy rose from his seat.

"Man, why you gotta call me out like that, Ms. Grey?" he asked, appearing offended, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

Jean chose not to answer him, merely smiling, nodding goodbye to her students as they filed out of the classroom. As she expected, Kitty Pryde was amongst the last of them, as she had always been since she became her student. A pen between her teeth, a pencil tucked above her ear, her backpack hanging haphazardly on her shoulder, and at least two notebooks balanced in her hands, she was doing a rather good job of rearranging her papers as she walked past. Jean smiled. She'd bet her life that there was no one who could manage on their own better than Kitty. Just before her student reached the door, Jean spoke.

"Kitty," she called softly. The girl in question paused and turned slowly, confused. "Do you have a moment?"

"Sure, Professor," the young mutant answered hesitantly. She hoisted her bag nervously as she moved toward Jean's desk, grimacing as she realized she had neglected to remove the pen from her mouth before she spoke. Jean concealed her smile as Kitty shifted the notebooks into one arm so she could deliberately retrieve the pen from her mouth and cap it properly, far beyond embarrassed by that point, a dark pink flush coloring her face as she did so. "Sorry," she muttered, shifting from one foot to another, clearing her throat and gripping the strap to her bag anxiously. "Am I in trouble, Ms. Grey?" she asked.

Jean was surprised. "Oh, no, no, you're not in trouble, Kitty," she hurried to explain, laughing aloud at the hilarity of the idea.

Kitty sighed heavily, relieved, her shoulders visibly relaxing. "Well, that's good," she told herself quietly. "See? No sweat."

The older mutant smiled reassuringly, having heard her student fairly clearly. "I was just wondering why I hadn't gotten your admission slip for the field training exercise we planned out in the mountains for the X-Men this weekend," she said, an auburn brow raised curiously as she placed the white board marker she'd been holding on her desk. "Do you have other plans? Homework or anything?" she asked, frowning slightly as she surveyed the younger girl's honestly bewildered expression.

"Field training?" Kitty repeated slowly, her brown eyes dark with confusion, her brow knit together with visible unease.

"Yes, just the other day I handed out the papers before class ended," she attempted to explain. "You weren't here. I gave yours to Rogue to pass it on." Jean frowned, reaching the apparent conclusion on her own. "She… didn't give it to you?"

Kitty laughed nervously, shaking her head. "Oh… No… Rogue… doesn't really seem to like me…" she admitted.

Jean frowned, motioning silently to the board where the day's notes were written as the first of her fifth period students began to file in. "Why not?" she asked, her attention once again turned to Kitty, worried that her shy student might not answer now that they weren't alone in the classroom.

"I think she thinks I like Bobby or something…" the tiny teen said quietly, glancing over her shoulder uncomfortably.

Jean nodded, sadly able to understand Rogue's irrational mistrust of the quieter, withdrawn member of the X-Men; Bobby had shown an interest in Kitty ever since they met. "Well, jealousy can do that to a girl..." she said, regretting the truth in it. "Anyway," she began, changing the subject abruptly as more students entered the room. "The trip starts today, right after all the students get out of class. We'll be gone until Monday afternoon. Oh, and don't worry about your homework either. Once you sign up for the trip, a message goes out to all of your teachers so you can have three extra days on your assignments." A smile began to form on Jean's face as she watched Kitty process the information. "So, are you interested?" she asked, seemingly her final words on the matter.

Kitty wrestled with herself for an answer. On one hand, it was an X-Men mission, and therefore she should go because an opportunity like that shouldn't be passed up, but on the other, she risked being murdered in her sleep by Rogue… "Well, I… I don't know, Ms. Grey…" she began hesitantly. "I mean, you guys are leaving so soon, and… I haven't packed…" She shook her head, flustered with herself, nearly losing hold of her belongings because of it. "I'll just hold up the whole trip, and…"

"Don't be silly," the older mutant commanded softly. "You won't hold anything up. Besides, everyone else probably still has to pack anyway, so you're not the only one." Jean smiled reassuringly once more. "Anyway, you're part of the X-Men. It wouldn't really be a true field exercise without all of us there, you know." She held out one of the admission slips temptingly.

Kitty took it hesitantly, somehow managing to make all of her burdens collectively look like the average amount able to be borne by such a small girl, and somehow managing to look not even the least bit overwhelmed by it all. Glancing up at her professor, who smiled supportively at her in return, Kitty skillfully uncapped her pen with one hand, using the edge of Jean's desk as a solid surface to sign the paper on. She handed it back silently, still weary about what she had just gotten herself into, but Jean's comforting smile helped to calm her, and she smiled a shy smile in return, averting her eyes timidly.

The late bell rang then, and Jean retrieved a late pass for the younger girl. "Just tell Storm that I asked to talk to you."

Kitty nodded, accepting the pass and ducking her head in a shy response when the professor nodded goodbye. Turning to head out the door, the young mutant froze, shocked to come face to face with Rogue, who had just managed to slip into class before Jean would have counted her late. The look Rogue gave her froze her blood, but she averted her eyes quickly, moving in a way that she was all too familiar with: a quick, nerveless, non-confrontational sidestep and quick paces out the door.

Jean watched the interaction sadly. She didn't blame Rogue, but it was nearly painful to see someone as easily intimidated as Kitty to get stared down by the dark charcoal eyes that sometimes scared even Jean herself. She sighed and motioned for Rogue to take her seat before turning to the rest of the class, ready to begin her fifth consecutive lecture of the day.


	2. A Doctor Knows Best

Okay, so I realize that this is moving really slow and it's actually pretty boring right now, but I've been trying to work on breaking the habit of jumping straight into things like I always do, so... forgive me? I also realize that I tend to try to explain myself way too in depth and it can get all cluttered and confusing, and I should really just learn to shut up sometime, but I'm working on that too... It'll get better soon, I promise.

Reviews would be** greatly** appreciated. xD

Hell, just a few hits would be greatly appreciated...

* * *

Once the final bell rang, signaling the end of the day, as well as the countdown for her weekend trip with the X-Men, an anxious Kitty could be seen hurrying back to her room. She was hoping that if she rushed while she packed, she wouldn't hold up the rest of the group for too long, but, against all her best efforts, the world did the best it could to slow her down. Having no idea what she needed to bring, the tiny teenager spent much of her slowly draining time trying to decide she would need.

Kitty peered ponderously down into her duffel bag, finally at a loss. Her plain gray sweater stared blankly back at her in a somewhat mocking fashion, as everything seemed to do when she was late. An instant away from breaking down out of sheer anxiety and hopelessness, her bottom lip clutched between her teeth, her hands having been run roughly through her hair not once, but several times, she was shocked to hear a soft knock at her door. She pressed her eyes closed tightly, taking a breath before she moved hesitantly to answer it. Knowing her luck, it would probably be Rogue, come to slaughter her while everyone else was busy getting their stuff ready. She fussed momentarily with the lock, which had never been cooperative ever since she had transfered to Xavier's School, then pulled open the door, immediately worried when she saw Jean instead of the Angel of Death.

"Oh. Ms. Grey," she uttered haltingly, already becoming flustered, a light flush coloring her cheeks. "I'm sorry--am I late?"

Jean smiled lightly, shaking her head, which the teen failed to notice, too busy worrying. She found Kitty's automatic assumption that there was something wrong incredibly endearing, along with many other things about her, but it often made her wonder why a girl as smart and as talented as Kitty would be so devoid of self-confidence. The obvious possibilities that came to mind didn't comfort her...

Kitty continued speaking, attempting to explain herself, oblivious to Jean's inner musings. "I tried to hurry…"

"It's okay, Kitty," Jean assured her. "You're not late. Storm's still throwing things together as we speak, so I'm sure you have plenty of time." Kitty visibly relaxed, grinning weakly in response to the smile her professor gave her, something that the older mutant was glad for. "I just came by to see if you needed help with anything," she said, then continuing a moment afterward. "That and I realized I didn't tell you any of the important, specific bits." She chuckled, rolling her eyes at herself.

The younger mutant grinned, but then rushed to open her door wider, realizing that it was awfully rude to keep her teacher out in the hallway. She shook her head. "Oh, I don't think I need any help, Ms. Grey," she said. "I'm just not sure what else I need to pack…"

Jean slipped her hands into the pockets of her jeans as she entered Kitty's room, her shoulders rising in an immobile half shrug, remnants of a habit she had picked up as a teenager and had yet to fully grow out of. Sometimes things like that were a good thing, she used to reason, as they made her feel younger and less stressed. "You should make sure to bring things with long-sleeves and jackets," she offered as a response to Kitty's dilemma. "It gets pretty cold where we're going. Trust me," she added.

Kitty nodded; she'd packed at least four of her favorite thermal shirts and two of her jackets, as well as her thickest pairs of jeans, so she figured she'd be fine. "Yeah, I got those," she confirmed, looking down into her duffel bag for the millionth time since she'd packed it. A moment later, apprehensive in the silence, she glanced toward the older mutant, flushing, suddenly finding the meticulously-placed posters on her walls childish now that they were subject to Jean's studious green eyes.

Jean was aware that Kitty had noticed her studying her room, but she made no move to cease her examination. She found out early in her life that a person's room said a lot about them, things you didn't even need to be telepathic to figure out, whether they realized it or not, and the younger mutant's room was a great example of her. Congested and compressed, in some areas it appeared cluttered, but overall it was actually methodically organized. In some ways, the setup of the room didn't surprise the teacher, but in other ways it did, such as the shelves and shelves of CDs along the wall and the stacks of them in the back corner of Kitty's desk. There must have been hundreds of them in all. Jean smiled secretly to herself, crossing her arms over her abdomen; she'd never imagined that her student would be so interested in music.

In reality, the older mutant had only been looking around for a few seconds, but to Kitty, it felt more akin to a lifetime. "I was just wondering if there was anything else we needed…" she started slowly, an attempt to divert Jean's attention, which proved successful as the professor turned to look at her. The younger girl shrugged shyly. "Since it's training, you know?"

"Oh, no, that's it," the senior mutant replied. "All the equipment's already been packed up; tents, suits, and everything."

"Then I think I'm good," Kitty said uncertainly. Shaking away her doubts, as she had always had a habit of forgetting all the important things she actually needed when she was packing, she pulled the zipper of her duffel bag closed to end the matter effectively. A mere moment later, possibly even less, unable to resist the urge, she ran through her mental list over again, just to be sure.

'_Okay… Shirts, pants, jackets. Socks. Underwear. Toothbrush. iPod. Uhm… I guess that's it… I hope.'_

Jean caught the thought unintentionally, but to save Kitty the embarrassment, she stifled her laughter. "You ready?" she asked instead, dropping her arms from their crossed position, as she'd found out once before that facing her that way was an extremely easy method of intimidating her on accident. She'd taken great care to appear as approachable as she could ever since.

"I think so," Kitty replied, still unsure, but trying her best to ignore her brain for the time being. She could worry about it later, when they were miles away from the mansion, when it became apparent that she actually _had_ forgotten something she needed. Exhaling a short breath as if to rid her mind of the thought, she picked up the bag by its strap and heaved it onto her shoulder, looking to Jean for further instruction. However, Jean remained silent, worried. She'd often seen Kitty lug around a whole bag full of books that could bring her to the floor with its weight alone, but now with a full-size duffel bag that could be at least half her size and double her weight hanging off her shoulder, it seemed to be an appropriate cause for concern.

"Do you need any help with that?" the older mutant asked gently, actually afraid it might prove too much for her.

Kitty smiled bashfully, embarrassed, but touched by the professor's concern. "No, I'm okay," she assured her instructor. She shrugged, surprisingly easily considering the weight of the bag. "This is nothing compared to everything I had to carry when I first got here."

Jean shook her head at the thought of it, determined. "Even so, I'd still feel better if you'd let me carry it for you…"

The younger mutant laughed nervously, averting her eyes and reaching for her backpack to avoid answering the question.

Nearly scoffing in disbelief that Kitty would even _think_ to try to carry anything more, Jean couldn't help her incredulous expression. "Especially if you're going to bring that too!" she exclaimed, motioning towards the offending item. Looking at a chip in the wood of her desk instead of into Jean's eyes, Kitty began to shake her head. The redhead took a step closer and ducked down to catch the younger girl's eyes. "Please?" she pleaded gently. She could only imagine the damage Kitty's spine and shoulders had endured if she had been any bit the same when she was growing up. Kitty sighed in defeat and offered Jean her backpack reluctantly, but the older mutant shook her head. "Uh uh. The other one," she instructed, raising a crimson brow, almost daring Kitty to refuse. Breaking under the pressure, Kitty slowly relinquished the duffel bag.

Jean smiled triumphantly, hauling the bag over her own shoulder. She realized once she held it that it wasn't that heavy, and, if she thought about it realistically, Kitty's backpack probably weighed about the same now without all her textbooks; despite that, she felt better knowing a barely-hundred-and-ten-pound girl was only carrying an average-sized backpack around rather than a duffel bag half her size. She might have exaggerated the size a little bit, but it was almost frighteningly close to the truth.

"_Now_ I think you're ready," the doctor finally said, moving to hold open the door to the dorm room.

Kitty merely nodded in response. She was embarrassed about having to have someone else carry her things, as absolutely nobody seemed to trust her when she said she was alright due to her size. She liked being small most of the time because it helped her blend into a crowd easier and she was able to fit easily where others were uncomfortable, but sometimes defending herself got tiring. However, for some reason, this time she didn't mind too much, as Jean's easy smile proved almost contagious.

After Kitty paused to lock her door, the two made their way down the hall. Jean, with one hand gripping the strap to her newly acquired duffel bag and the other lost in her pocket, smiled, wondering why she was somehow again drawn to old habits in Kitty's presence, as she hadn't relapsed into them more than once within that short amount of time in years. Despite the oddity of it, she enjoyed the feeling. Walking silently beside her, the excess straps of her backpack caught in her hands, now worn and abused from constant fret, as Kitty was partial to pulling at stray strings, the younger mutant was wondering why it was so easy for her to smile lately. Silently pondering, the two made their way out to the grounds to meet the rest of the X-Men.


	3. AUTHOR'S NOTE

Hey there, everyone.

So, I know it's been like forever and a day since I've updated this, but I have an explanation. First of all, as usual, I've been crazy busy with school because my AP Language teacher is a madwoman/borderline slave driver, and I've also been working on some things for the Literary Journal my Creative Writing group is putting together. So, blame the public school system, not me. Lol. Also, I kind of fudged things up when I started this story, 'cause, you see, I kind of started writing chapter five before any other parts of it, then I skipped to chapter seven, and then did one and two, and now I'm trying to fill in the gaps 'cause I've already got chapter nine and eleven all planned out, so please, please, please bear with me. Plus, I'm convinced that I border on the edge of bipolarity because for a few days I completely abandoned even thinking about this piece after I was obsessed with it the day before, so... I know, I know, I'm a horrible person, but I can't help it. Please, just be patient and I'll get things up and running as fast as I possibly can.

Thanks for all your support,

Slater


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